Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a recording medium.
Description of the Related Art
There has been a growing demand for photo books and the like that include ink-jet recording media. Photo books are generally made by, for example, folding in half each of a plurality of ink-jet recording media each including an image recorded on one side thereof and bonding the other side of each recording medium, on which an image is not recorded, to one another by using the fold line as a page boundary. This method makes it possible to make a photo book by arranging on a recording medium a large image that spans a page boundary.
However, when each of the recorded media is folded, parts of the images are likely to crack or detach due to, for example, cracking of ink receiving layers included in the recording media (hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as “fold cracking”). Even in a case other than the production of photo books in which the recording media are intentionally folded, cracking or detachment of parts of the images may also occur due to the recording media being accidentally folded when being stored. Accordingly, there has been a growing demand for the development of a recording method that enables a recorded medium on which an image is less likely to crack or detach when being intentionally or accidentally folded, that is, a recorded medium having high resistance to fold cracking (hereinafter, referred to as “fold crack resistance”), to be produced.
One of the approaches to enhance the fold crack resistance of recorded media is to enhance the flexibility of an ink receiving layer. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-314321 disclosed a method in which resin particles prepared by emulsion polymerization using a polymeric dispersant including a hydroxyl group are added to an ink receiving layer in order to enhance the flexibility of the ink receiving layer. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-183807 discloses another approach to enhance the fold crack resistance of recorded media, in which an intermediate layer including a resin having a glass transition temperature of 50° C. or less is interposed between an ink receiving layer and a substrate included in a recording medium.